Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Coffee cake

Its
been quite quiet in the 365things kitchen this month. Me n Hubs were in Ireland
over Easter for a bit of a holidays, and since then, I’ve been on a health
kick. I’ve pared things back a lot and cooking a lot simpler and healthier, so things like grilled lean meat such as turkey and chicken breast or
fish roasted in a little oil and lots of herbs and spices. These are
accompanied by boiled or steamed veggies. Its also a good opportunity to finish
up the ends of packets, so couscous, quinoa and brown rice are served
alongside. I’ve made a couple of yummy breakfast smoothies using (for 2 people)
a low-fat yogurt, one banana, one cup of frozen berries, a glug of milk, a
shake of cinnamon and two dessert spoonful’s of muesli. I sometimes add a good
dessertspoon of almond paste if I feel like it. These are blasted in the
blender for one minute and slugged. If it is a bit thick, add a little more
milk. Lunch is a massive salad with
lettuce and/or spinach leaves, tomatoes, a little bit of blue cheese or lean
protein (turkey slices, tinned fish without oil) or substantial soup made with
beans and lentils. I’ve been doing this for a little over a week, and I’m
already down two kilos*.

But
still, it’s the weekend, and weekend = little treat. While we were in Ireland
we went to a gorgeous little coffee shop in Galway city called Cupan Tae (it’s
Irish for ‘cup of tea'). The shop is a mishmash of china cups, chintz curtains,
lace tablecloths and general kitchness. They serve sandwiches and divine homemade
cakes. I tried the coffee cake, and I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. So,
I tried the BBC Good Food/Angela Nilsen Ultimate Makeover coffee cake this weekend.

Half-iced coffee cake

The
original recipe is here,
and this is my version. It’s not as low in fat as the BBC version, as there are
some things I don’t like, such as oil in cakes, but I’ve indicated all changes.
I didn’t put any walnuts into the cake itself as my SD is allergic to them.
Overall, it’s very light and tasty cake.

Mix the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and both sugars into
a large mixing bowl. Make a dip in the centre and stir in the eggs, fromage
frais, melted butter and the coffee with a wooden spoon so everything is evenly
mixed. Spoon the mixture into the tin, smooth the top to level it, then bake
for 40-45 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes
out clean.

Let the cake cool in the tin briefly, then turn it out and peel
off the lining paper. Leave to cool completely while you make the icing.

Put the caster sugar and coffee into a small, heavy-based
saucepan. Heat gently, stirring to help the sugar dissolve. Once dissolved,
raise the heat, then boil at a fast rolling boil for about 2½-3 mins until
thickened and syrupy. Pour into a small heatproof bowl and set aside to cool.
When cold it should be the consistency of treacle.

Beat the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla together until
smooth, then stir in the cold coffee syrup. It said in the recipe that you need
a tablespoon of icing sugar, but the icing was very runny, so I just kept
adding spoonfuls until it thickened up. I’ve no idea how much I used in the
end.

Split the cake into 2, then sandwich back together with the
filling. Spread the icing over the top, scatter over the chopped walnuts and
leave to set.

As
the sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed, I only iced half the cake. Hubs
isn’t as fond of the sweet stuff as I am, so decorating like this means we can
both enjoy it. #compromise.

'light' coffee cake

* I'm neither a doctor nor a nutritionist, so please seek the advice of a doctor before going on any diet. Also, I'd lost the 2 kilos before eating the entire cake (with Hubs) over the weekend. The 2 kilos lost has become 1 kilo lost ;-)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Follow me on Twitter

About Me

Hello! I'm Katie, and I've been living in Belgium for about ten years. Belgian food is delicious, but sometimes you just need something that reminds you of home. Finding this can pose a problem in Belgium, so I often make this from scratch. I don't grow our own or milk cows or anything like that, but I do cook with food that my grandmother would recognise.
I also love Asian and Indian food and I often make this too (it’s the only way to guarantee you get the spiciness you need!). I try to cook low-fat, although some things I just refuse to meddle with (such as sticky toffee pudding). I'll be blogging about my kitchen (mis)adventures here.

Search This Blog

Blog Archive

Followers

Disclaimer

This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and certainly not those of anyone else, especially my family, friends or employer. If you decide to post a comment on my blog, please note that I retain the right to remove it. This will be done if I consider your comment to be rude, abusive, selling something or alike.